Greens and Beans - A Tuscan-Inspired Bean Soup

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This fast and simple riff on the classic Tuscan Bean Soup has just saved my bacon. The quick bread I had intended to feature tonight was a complete and utter failure. It cemented to the no-stick pan in which it baked and when it finally released it looked like the debris on either side an earthquake fault-zone. Worse still, its taste and texture left much to be desired and I was not inclined to give the recipe another try. I did, however, still need something to share with you tonight and I needed it quickly. Fortunately, I had seen this recipe on Serious Eats at the beginning of the year and had made it for a family lunch at that time. I loved the recipe as it was written, but had made notes in the margin of my printed copy, and I thought tonight would be the perfect time to test the recipe with my changes in place. Save for the greens, this is a pantry soup that takes minutes to prepare. It comes very close to the Tuscan classic that inspired it, though it is much faster to make. As you skim through the ingredient list, please note that you'll want to save the almost gelatinous liquid in which the beans are packed. It lends flavor to the soup, but it contains sodium so you'll want to watch how much additional salt you add to the soup. When served with a crusty peasant bread and a bright green salad, you'll have the makings of a wonderful family meal. The soup keeps well but the greens will quickly lose that bright color that makes them so appealing. Unfortunately, green vegetables tend to lose their color quickly when cooked. This happens because cooking releases acids in the vegetables that react with chlorophyll, the substance that is responsible for their green color. The acids and heat destroy some of the chlorophyll, and by degrees those lovely greens turn gray. Blanching works in some preparations but it doesn't help much with soups. My advice - eat quickly. I know that those of you who try this recipe will be pleased. Here is how the soup is made.

Greens and Beans - A Tuscan-Inspired Bean Soup...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt and Serious Eats

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
1 cup finely diced onion
1 cup finely diced carrot
1 cup finely diced celery
4 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
3 (15-ounce) cans white beans (cannellini or great northern), with their liquid
4 6-inch sprigs rosemary, leaves finely chopped and stems reserved
1 (3-4 inch) chunk Parmesan rind (optional)
2 bay leaves
4 cups mixed baby spinach and kale
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Parmigiano-Reggiano for serving

Directions:
1) Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onions, carrots, and celery and cook, stirring frequently, until softened but not browned, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and dried red pepper flakes and cook, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add vegetable broth, beans and their liquid, rosemary stems, Parmesan rind, and bay leaves. Increase heat to high, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a bare simmer, add spinach and kale mixture, cover and cook for 15 minutes.
2) Discard bay leaves and rosemary stems. Use a hand blender to roughly puree a portion of bean mixture until desired consistency is reached. Alternatively, transfer 2 cups of soup to a blender or food processor and process until smooth (start on low speed and increase to high to prevent blender blow-out). Return puree to soup and stir to combine. Stir in cider vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper.
3) Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with reserved chopped rosemary leaves, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and a grating of Parmigiano-Reggiano, and serve hot with crusty bread. Yield: 6 servings.







One Year Ago Today: Oatmeal Pancakes for Shrove Tuesday













Two Years Ago Today: Lemon Bavarian Cream Cake
















Three Years Ago Today: Corn Salad with Edamame and Tomatoes

Tuscan Tomato and Bread Soup - Pappa al Pomodori

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The late August summers of my Chicago childhood moved in veiled slow-motion. Mirage-like waves rose from the steaming pavement and the incessant drone of cicadas slowed already weary bodies to a dirge like sway. Afternoons were spent under the sprinkler or reading beneath the rank trees-of-heaven that grew untended in the neighborhood. Boredom was a common malady that I escaped by venturing across the street to the Salvino's garden. When the tomatoes came in, the stamp-size plot and the kitchen of the bungalow teemed with activity as Mama S. and her sisters put-by the hundreds of jars that would be used for winter meals. Several of the sisters worked over an old starch stove that had been set up in the yard to contain the mess that came with blanching and skinning bushels of tomatoes. Another crew used the old stove in the basement to sterilize jars for canning, but the jars were filled upstairs in the blast furnace of a kitchen under Mama's watchful eye. The kitchen produced jar after jar of stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste, and, when lunch rolled around, everyone got to enjoy a marvelous Tuscan soup called pappa al pomodori. Mama called the soup tomato water. It contained the juice of sieved tomatoes, a handful of fresh basil, some onion and cubes of stale bread that were used to thicken the broth. I suspect that to those who have never sampled it, the soup sounds like prison fare, but, I promise you, that when it is freshly made, it is, unequivocally, delicious. There are scores of recipes for the soup. Jamie Oliver has one that is wonderful, but I prefer to use one that was developed by Mary Ann Esposito and featured on her program Ciao Italia. It's a hands down favorite for me, because of all the recipes I've found, it is the one most like the soup I first tasted as a child. This is a straightforward recipe and I know those of you who try it will enjoy this peasant favorite. It is important to use fully ripe, meaty, blood red tomatoes and good day-old bread when you put this together. This is a wonderful way to use summer's bounty and I hope you will give this soup a try. You can see Mary Ann make the recipe, here. I've included her recipe below. Here's how pappa al pomodori is made.

Tuscan Tomato and Bread Soup - Pappa al Pomodori...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Mary Ann Esposito

Ingredients:
2-1/2 pounds plum tomatoes, cored and cut in half
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pound leeks, white bulb only, finely diced
12 basil leaves, minced
3 cups hot chicken or vegetable broth
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Grinding black pepper
3 cups stale bread cut into 1-inch cubes

Directions:
1) Puree tomatoes in a food processor until smooth. Pour mixture into a fine sieve placed over a large bowl. Strain juice by pressing down with a wooden spoon; discard seeds and skins. Set aside.
2) Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large soup pot, stir in leeks and half the basil and cook until leeks soften. Stir in tomato juice, broth, salt, and pepper and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Cover pot and remove from hit.
3) Heat remaining olive oil in a large sauté pan. Stir in remaining basil and bread cubes. Brown bread quickly over medium heat. Stir cubes into soup. Cover the pan and allow bread to absorb liquid.
4) When ready to serve, slowly reheat the soup. Pass extra virgin olive oil to drizzle on top. Yield: 8 servings.

One Year Ago Today: Pickles and Relish - A Round-Up

Two Years Ago Today: Adam's Lime Curd

Three Years Ago Today: Leche Asada

Tuscan Cheese Cake - Torta di Ricotta

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...We've had lots of pasta this fall, so with my kitchen in Italian mode, it was only a matter of time before I remembered this cake and pulled the recipe from my files. This dessert is not to everyone's liking, and while I hate to admit it, I have dissenters in my own family. They grouse the entire time they're eating the cake, but because no one here is force fed, that always makes me smile. The cake does have an unusual texture. It's a cross between a sponge cake and a cheesecake but it lacks the creamy sweetness of its American counterpart. If I had to compare it to something we all have eaten, a custardy bread pudding comes to mind. It's also been compared to a heavy souffle, the type you wouldn't want to drop on your foot. If you can, make this with fresh ricotta cheese, it really is worthwhile in this particular recipe. The cake has a faint undertone of lemon that makes it perfect to serve with macerated berries. I think the addition of almond flavor would also be wonderful. I refrigerate the cake for a full day before I plan to slice and serve it. I don't think it holds up well so my rule for it is a day to sit, a day to eat. I rarely have enough leftovers for that to be a problem. The recipe originally came from the Silver Spoon cookbook. Here's how they make this.

Torta di Ricotta - Tuscan Cheese Cake...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, courtesy of the Silver Spoon cookbook

Ingredients:
Butter for the pan
2-1/4 cups all purpose flour; extra for dusting the pan
4 eggs
1/2 cup light brown sugar; extra for sprinkling
1-3/4 cups ricotta cheese
Grated zest of 1/2 lemon
5 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon baking powder

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a deep tart or springform pan with butter and dust with flour. Whisk eggs and brown sugar together until light and foamy. Stir in ricotta cheese, lemon zest, olive oil and milk. Sift flour and baking powder over egg mixture, mix well and pour into cake pan. Sprinkle generously with additional brown sugar. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven, cool and turn out. Serves 6.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Yogurt Cheesecake - One Perfect Bite
Margarita Cheesecake - One Perfect Bite
Lavender Cheesecake Bars - One Perfect Bite
Caramel Apple Cheesecake - The Foodie/Nutritionist
Blueberry Japanese Cheesecake - Flour on Her Nose
Almond Cheesecake - Anncoo Journal
Fig and Almond Cheesecake - Brown Eyed Baker

Bob's Tuscan Bruschetta

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Several months after Bob was discharged from the army we met with a group of friends at Bughouse Square, the name locals gave to Chicago's Washington Square Park. After listening to the evenings "soapboxers" we headed to a coffee house for an evening of folk music and pizza. There were five couples with us that evening and the men had a shared service experience they rarely discussed. There was an engineer, a mathematician, 2 chemists and a pharmacist in the group. Between them they spoke 7 languages and held advanced degrees. The topic they preferred not to discuss? The army had made them all cooks and they had been together in cook's school at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Over the years it became a closed joke between them. As the wife of one of those men, I can tell you they pretty much avoided the kitchen after that. The only time Bob jumped in to help me was to make gravy. It was delicious, but he literally made a gallon of it, so, thereafter, I let him stand down. He'd occasionally roll up his sleeves to make chili, a pizza or ribs, but nothing adventurous. Then one night, in a fit of creativity, he made this Tuscan-style bruschetta. I'm here to tell you it is delicious. It is simple to do and the only trick is to make sure you serve it while it's still hot. The bruschetta can be assembled several hours before serving, but bake them off just before you want to serve them. I've found that oil-packed, sun-dried tomatoes pack quite a flavor punch and this bruschetta is the perfect place to use them. Kudos to my husband for his wonderful creation. Here's the recipe. I want you all to remember that, "no army travels far without its cooks". Even if they could have been Russian language translators or corpsmen.

Bob's Tuscan-Style Bruschetta...from Bob's corner of Mary's kitchen at One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1 cup drained and chopped sundried tomatoes packed in in seasoned oil
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts or slivered almonds
1/2 cup finely sliced scallions (white and tender green)
3 ounces grated Parmesan-Regianno cheese
8 ounces shredded Provolone cheese
24 1/2-inch baguette slices

Directions:
1) Combine sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, scallions, Parmesan and Provolone cheese in a large bowl. Mix well.
2) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spread cheese mixture over baguette slices and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until cheese is melted and golden brown. Serve immediately. Yield: 24 bruschetta.

Tuscan Bean Soup

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Bob and I have been playing hot potato with some version of the flu for two weeks now. We're both finally on the mend and our appetites are starting to return. Our meals have been light for much of that time. I'm happy to report there's not a can of soup left in the pantry. That's a good thing. One more bowl of chicken soup would have me laying eggs and Bob crowing to wake the sun. We're still not ready for "real" meals but I wanted to make something more substantial than what we've been living on. I must also add that I didn't want to make a trip to the store and that limited me to what was in the pantry or freezer. I had an abundance of beans, plenty of frozen stock and a small amount of pancetta to play with. Fortunately, I also had an adequate supply of vegetables to help get me where I wanted to go. My destination was Tuscany. Bob volunteered to make bruschetta while I made a Tuscan bean soup we both love. This is really simple to do but timing is important. The beans and the soup pasta should be added to the stock about 15 minutes before the soup is to be served. If either sit in the stock too much longer than that, there'll be no liquid in the pot when you go to serve the soup. Once the vegetables are diced, the soup can be on the table with the hour. This soup is a personal favorite of mine. I think you'll like it too. I've scaled the recipe to feed smaller families, but if you have an army at your table you can double or triple the recipe without a problem. Do not, however, increase the measurement for lemon or cider vinegar. Here's how we do it.

Tuscan Bean Soup...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
3-oz. diced panchetta
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced celery
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried sage leaves
5 to 6 cups homemade or reduced-sodium chicken, beef or vegetable broth
Juice of 1/2 lemon or 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 cup acini pepe pasta, uncooked
2 (15.5-oz.) cans drained cannellini beans
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
3 to 4 tablespoons minced fresh Italian parsley

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a 5 to 6 quart stockpot set over medium heat. When oil shimmers, add pancetta and saute for 3 minutes. Add onion, carrots, celery, salt and pepper and cook until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and sage and cook until garlic releases its fragrance. Add stock and bring to a boil. Stir in lemon juice or vinegar. Reduce heat, cover pot and simmer for 30 minutes. Add pasta and beans and cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until pasta is al dente. Stir in cheese and parsley just before serving. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Yield: 5 servings.

Polpettone - Tuscan Stovetop Meatloaf

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...There are times when my sense of the absurd overcomes common sense. Before I go any further, you need a little background. I've been working with a cookbook that was written for folks who know their way around the kitchen. There are no detailed instructions to take you from the larder to the table in 10 easy steps. There's a list of ingredients and a few charming, but terse instructions that can be summarized as "mix and bake." I've long waged a personal war with recipes that call for a chopped onion or 2 cloves of garlic. My brain is wired to handle balanced equations and specific instructions. What size onion are you talking about? If onions upset me, you can imagine how well I handle an instruction directing me to shape a meatloaf like a football. You'll be even more surprised to learn I tried. Fortunately, I realized it was impossible to fry anything shaped like an American football before reaching DEFCON 1. Undeterred, but taking terrible hazing from Bob, I decided they must have meant a soccer ball. I tried that, too, but my creation collapsed under it's own weight and became a discus. I fell back on my old standby, the salami-shaped cylinder, and fortunately that worked, allowing me to roll the loaf as it browned. I choose this recipe because it's geared to a smaller table and I was intrigued by the fact that it was cooked on top of the stove. It also made a ton of sauce that would be perfect for pasta. Despite the false starts, silliness and instructions lost in translation this is a lovely meatloaf that is perfect for smaller families. Here is the recipe for polpettone - Tuscan meatloaf.

Polpetonne - Tuscan Stovetop Meatloaf...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Judy Witts Francini

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
2 ounces prosciutto, finely chopped
1 large egg, beaten
2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
2 slices crustless bread, soaked in milk, then squeezed to remove liquid
Flour for dredging
1/2 onion, peeled and finely diced
1 carrot, peeled and finely dice
1 stalk celery, scrubbed and finely diced
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Olive oil
Salt, pepper and nutmeg
1 (28-oz.) can plum tomatoes packed in juice

Diretions:
1) Mix beef with prosciutto, egg, cheese and bread, Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. I used a teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and a big pinch of nutmeg.Shape meatloaf like a football, roll in flour or breadcrumbs.
2) Saute onion, carrot and celery in olive oil. I used 2 tablespoons. After 10 minutes, add polpettone, turning to brown on all sides. Add tomatoes and up to a cup of their juice. Cover and let cook slowly, turning frequently to avoid sticking. I cooked mine for 30 minutes. Very carefully remove from pan to a cutting board. Let sit for at least 10 minutes. Slice and serve with lemon wedges. Yield: 4 servings.

Cook's Note: The parsley specified in the ingredient list was never mentioned in the instructions. I added it to the tomato sauce. Next time I'll include it in the meat mixture.

Here are some other great meatloaf recipes from other blogs:
Moroccan Meatloaf from Simply Recipes
Kalyn's Best Meatloaf from Kalyn's Kitchen
Turkey Meatloaf with Fig Gravy from The Perfect Pantry

Arista - Tuscan Herbed Roasted Pork

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...A few weeks ago I was notified that my blog had been randomly selected as the winner of a Foodie Blogroll giveaway and that I would receive an autographed copy of Judy Francini's new book, Secrets from My Tuscan Kitchen. When the book arrived I spent an evening paging through it and selecting recipes I wanted to try. Arista - today's recipe - is a Tuscan pork roast similar to the Tuscan Pork Loin, already on my blog. I wanted to compare it to my own. A glance through the ingredient list left no doubt that the pork would be flavorful. A glance at the directions raised a concern. I thought the specified roasting time would produce a dry roast. I was right on both counts. The roast is wonderfully flavorful. It's stuffed with a mixture of garlic and rosemary and basted with wine and olive oil as it cooks. The recipe calls for an hour and forty minutes of roasting. That's way too long for our taste. I pulled the roast from the oven when my meat thermometer read 140 degrees F. At that point the roast had been in the oven for a bit over 60 minutes. I tented it with foil and let it sit for another 15 minutes before slicing it. It was wonderful. There is one other change I'll make the next time I prepare this. The roast is cut, book fashion, almost in half to create a bed for the herb rub. In the future, I cut the roast into thirds to create a larger surface for the herbs. I used a dry French vermouth and a good olive oil for basting the roast. I served it with Parmesan mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus. If you like well flavored foods, I urge you to give this recipe a try. It's easy to do and inexpensive in the great scheme of things. Manga!

Arista - Tuscan Pork Roast...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
2-1/2 pounds boneless pork roast
3 whole cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
1 large branch fresh rosemary, about 1/2 cup
Kosher or sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Optional: sage, fennel seeds
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup white wine

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2) Remove rosemary leaves from branch an put on a cutting board. Top with garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pepper. If you are using sage and fennel seeds they should be added now. Chop finely.
3) With a sharp knife, cut pork in almost in half lengthwise. Rub inside of roast with herb mixture. Close and tie with string. Rub outside of roast with any remaining herbs.
4) Place in oven for 10 minutes. Baste with wine and olive oil. Lower heat to 375 degrees F. Cook for 1-1/2 hours, basting frequently. Tent with foil and let sit for 15 minutes before slicing. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Tuscan Pork Loin

There's a lot of laughter in my kitchen right now. Bob and I have spent the last 30 minutes trying to get a picture of the black mushroom soup that I planned to share with you today. It's not happening folks. I could go into detail, but it's best - trust me - that we move on to the next course. Tuscan pork loin is a homely dish, but with a little lipstick this pig can delight your guests as well. It's really delicious; for best flavor it should sit tightly wrapped in its herb coating for at least 8 hours before roasting. Dried herbs work well here and dry vermouth can be used to make the sauce. If Julia Child could use vermouth as a stand-in for white wine, so can we. The good news is the vermouth keeps pretty much forever, so you can always have "white wine" at the ready. The roast needs no special handling, though to assure even cooking it's best to tie it into a cylinder. Once it's in the oven you're done. Enjoy!

Tuscan Pork Loin

Ingredients:
Pork Loin:
1 center cut boneless pok loin (2-1/2 to 3 pounds)
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided use
! teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon crushed dried sage
1 tablespoon crushed dried rosemary
2 teaspoon crushed dried thyme
1 tablespoon coarse garlic salt
2 teaspoons coarsely cracked black pepper
1/4 cup dry white vermouth
1 cup reduced sodium chicken stock
1 tablespoon instant-blend flour (i.e. Wondra)

Directions:
1) Using kitchen twine, tie pork loin at 1-inch intervals to form a cylinder of uniform circumference.
2) Combine oil, lemon zest, sage, rosemary, thyme salt and pepper in a shallow baking dish. Roll pork loin in mixture. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
3) Preheat conventional oven to 325 degrees F. If using a convection oven preheat to 300 degrees F. Place a large (12-inch) cast iron skillet into oven to warm.
4) Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy ovenproof skillet over high heat until oil begins to shimmer. Add pork; sear well, about 5 minutes per side, using tongs to roll meat until all surfaces are brown. Transfer roast to hot pan already in oven. Roast for 35 minutes, or until pork reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees F. Remove from oven. Tent with foil; let sit for 10 minutes before slicing.
5) While pork roasts, add 1/4 cup vermouth to pan in which pork was browned. Scrape to release fond from bottom of pan. Add broth. Stir in instant blending flour and whisk until a thin sauce forms. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve with Tuscan pork loin. Yield: 6 servings.